Elements of Harmony: Next Generation
by CresantShooter123
Summary: The Elements of Harmony have been dormant for years. One was broken entirely. The Rainbow Power that had been found was once again lost. Equestria had fallen on dark times. War had broken out among many towns and cities. It began in the Crystal Empire. Queen Chrysalis, knowing there was nothing to stop her, invaded and the entire city had to be evacuated. Rated T for violence etc
1. One

The Elements of Harmony had been dormant for years. One was broken entirely. The Rainbow Power that had been found was once again lost. Equestria had fallen on dark times.

War had broken out among many towns and cities. It began in the Crystal Empire, Princess Cadence and Shining Armour's baby barely a year old. Queen Chrysalis, knowing there was nothing to stop her, invaded and the entire city had to be evacuated. Discord drifted between fazes of helping the ponies and helping Chrysalis so nopony was ever certain which side he was on. Manehatten had been turned into a refugee camp for those too weak to fight, the young, the old, and the ones who either refused to or didn't know how to fight. Canterlot was the main base of operations for the armies.

Chrysalis was Equestria's biggest enemy and she had been growing more powerful since the Crystal Empire became her home. Many lone army camps had been infiltrated by Changling spies so many ponies were on high alert wherever they went and Zecora had created some form of powder or liquid that would help identify the good ponies from the bad.

This is where our story begins, within all of this chaos was a group of ponies who had been young when the dark times arose and were all still living in Ponyville, which had now become a walled off town for ponies who had been surviving in the wasteland outside. One was a Unicorn with a high magical ability, she was usually on watch or keeping the ponies calm with her songs. Another was a Pegasus built for fighting, she was in charge of teaching the young fillies and colts how to fight and/or how to keep information out of the hands of the enemy, even when being interrogated or tortured. The third was an Earth Pony who had been put in charge of Ponyville's main defenses by the council whom were in charge of the town, she was a smart mare and rather brave in the face of danger. Next was another Earth Pony, she was the head of the council being very talented in getting other ponies to do what she needed them to do, the mare worked alongside a few of the original holders of the Elements of Harmony and was strategic when helping plan out attacks. The final two were an odd pair of Earth Ponies, many spoke of how their duo was an strange mashup that probably would've never happened if Equestria hadn't fallen, they were the only two who ever set foot out of Ponyville's walls on a regular basis, grabbing supplies, equipment and sometimes random items ponies had requested they look for.

Princess Twilight Sparkle worked with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadence up in Canterlot with the main army. Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, Starlight Glimmer and Spike still lived in Ponyville, the mares working on the council whilst Spike was a teacher with Cheerilee. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy worked up in Cloudsdale, keeping tabs on the Crystal Empire and reporting to the Princesses when necessary. Rarity... Well Rarity died before everything went downhill, her death was the reason everything went wrong, with the Element of Generosity gone the others were useless and that was how Chrysalis was able to take over so easily.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Sweetie Belle stretched, yawning as she entered the home she shared with her friends. Another hard day of work and she was finally relieved by Button Mash who usually took the night watch. Apple Bloom smiled at her as she entered their room, the red maned mare was curled up on her bunk, reading a book with a torch in her hoof. Sweetie Belle replied with a tired smile, climbing onto her own bunk and resting her head on her pillow

"Tough day of work huh?" Apple Bloom asked quietly, her voice similar to what her sister Apple Jack's had been before the war

"You wouldn't believe" Sweetie sighed, her own voice much deeper than when she was a simple filly

"Pip and Silver foun' a couple new books today"

The Unicorn hummed in interest, her eyes closing but still focusing on the small conversation she was having

"Diamond managed to convince tha' grumpy stallion to finally learn how ta defend himself and Scoot was havin' a field day with tha'" Apple Bloom yawned, turning off her torch and placing it on her bedside table along with her book "the guard's doin' okay, ah got some new recruits from Scoot's class an' Dinky had ta show em how ta deal with each of the stallions an' mares"

Both mares giggled slightly

"It's Rarity's birthday tomorrow, the council's got a few celebrations planned, with the regular traditions"

"I get the feeling tomorrow's gonna be more interesting than we think" Sweetie mumbled, the to mares finally falling into a dreamless sleep

 **Introductory chapter finished :3 how was that? I hope it wasn't confusing but yeah, my story's a little bit darker than most light-hearted mlp fanfics '^.^ and I know the cmc have Cutie Marks now but I feel like with the marks they have in the cover, things'll be a little more unique and interesting later on :)**

 **Ciao~**


	2. Two

Silver Spoon reached up and pulled the blanket off of the bed above her own. The stallion on the top bunk groaned, trying to grasp the missing fabric away from his roommate – who rolled her eyes in response to his moping.

"Get up, Pip." The mare ordered, her voice was smooth like honey but had twinges of what it had once been when she was younger.

She folded up the blanket she had stolen and placed it at the foot of her bed before grabbing her glasses, sorting her mane and lifting her saddlebags onto her back.

"I don't wanna" Pipsqueak mumbled, curling into a ball. His voice rivalling Big Mac's in how low it had become, he still had his accent which made him seem much cuter – like he was when he was a colt.

"We have to help get everything set up, remember" Silver said, standing on her hind legs to see her partner's face poking out from underneath his pillow, "you shouldn't have stayed up so late."

Pip grumbled something under his breath before sitting up, tying his bandana around his neck and grabbing his saddlebags. Silver hoped back to give him enough space to jump down, landing on the wooden floor with a muffled ' _thump_ '.

The pair left their room and tiptoed past Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara's to get to the stairs. Quietly exiting the old structure, Silver Spoon and Pipsqueak were met by the familiar face of Spike.

Spike had aged like everypony else, he still walked on two legs but was much taller and his limbs (this included his tail) were longer and slimmer. He had even grown a set of wings over the years – big enough to carry his own body weight but probably nopony else's.

"Thanks for the extra help" the dragon thanked, leading the duo through Ponyville, "I don't think Apple Jack, Big Mac and I could've done this ourselves."

"It's really not a problem Spike" Pip reassured, walking between his two companions, "I'm sure Sweetie Belle will appreciate the extra effort put in. Is Princess Twilight coming this year?"

Spike sighed, his wings and tail drooping, "Pinkie sent her a letter but just like last year – and the years before that – she's busy fighting back Chrysalis' forces. Luna said she might come by this evening though, so that's a plus."

"How come Princess Luna is able to come most years but Twilight's always busy?" Silver Spoon questioned, not disrespecting the Princess of Friendship, but not appreciating one of the ponies that helped save Equestria being put on the sidelines either.

"I suppose Princess Celestia wants to keep her sister away from dark forces considering what happened the last time that happened." Pip shrugged, understanding his partner's feelings.

"It's nice that one of them can come by at least" Spike said, crossing the river into the park.

Rarity's tomb stood tall in the centre of the park, a perfect statue of her on top of it. The eyes, horn and necklace of the statue glinted with shards of the broken Element of Generosity, the other Elements lying lifeless on podiums next to the tomb.

The Element of Laughter was cracked down the middle, for Pinkie Pie who'd lost most of her bubbly personality (though she was still a friendly pony). The Element of Honesty was chipped at the top, for Apple Jack who was forced to lie in many situations. The Element of Magic was missing an 'arm' (as it was a star) due to Twilight stopping her quest to learn new spells in place of battle techniques. The Elements of Loyalty and Kindness only had a few scratches – Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy keeping their main traits as they kept the ponies of Cloudsdale together.

Apple Jack and Big Mac were waiting for the trio in front of Rarity's tomb, smiling sadly at them as they set down a few wreaths and bouquets around the stone structures.

Pip reached them first, Silver lingering at the five podiums beside the tomb, the stallion flipped open one of his bags and pulled out a small group of tulips that were tied together with a purple ribbon.

"Thank ya, these were her favourite" Apple Jack smiled, taking the flowers from the stallion and placing them on top of the shrine at the statue's hooves.

Silver walked over after Pip had moved to lay flowers down in front of the podiums. She reached into her saddlebags to pull out a single rose and two silver items, Big Mac took the rose whilst Apple Jack stared at the object Silver had put into her hoof.

They were silver gift spoons **(I don't actually know what they're called so my friend and I just call them gift spoons)** , they looked similar to her Cutie Mark but instead of the heart each one had a different shaped gem: one had a purple diamond whilst the other had an orange gem shaped like a pie.

"I knew how much you liked the ones I made for your parents' graves a few years ago and recently Pip and I found enough materials for me to make one for Rarity and Granny Smith." The mare said with a small smile.

Apple Jack's eyes welled up with tears as she looked down at the spoons, "ah don't know what ta say."

"Then don't say anything, its okay." Silver pulled the other mare forward for a hug which was happily returned.

Apple Jack took the gift spoon made for Granny Smith and trotted off to the pony's gravestone – which was located not far from Rarity's tomb and was right next to mare's parents' graves – when she was in front of the moss covered stone, she placed the spoon in the dirt and pushed it down with her hoof so the bulky part couldn't be seen and only the delicate design and gem could glimmer in the sunlight. Silver Spoon copied those actions for Rarity's and placed it so it was visible between all of the flowers that decorated the stone.

The four ponies took a couple of steps back to look at the decorations as Spike hovered next to the head of the statue where a floral crown was placed on it.

"It looks beautiful" Pipsqueak mumbled.

"Eeyup" Big Mac nodded. He turned and headed back into town to wait for everypony else to meet him.

The others waited, sitting by the tomb and talking amongst themselves – Pip and Silver's saddlebags by a tree not too far away. It didn't take too long for everypony to come in following Big Mac, they all took seats on the grass and left spaces open for the other council members and of course the other backup leaders of the town.

Big Mac sat himself down next to his sister and Spike, Pinkie Pie and Starlight Glimmer appeared quite quickly, fitting in between the mare and Pipsqueak. Silver Spoon sat beside him and Apple Bloom sat beside her with Diamond Tiara, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"You made a gift spoon" Silver heard Sweetie whisper from the end of the row, staring at the charm sticking out of the ground, "you didn't have to, it takes away from the things you get to keep from your expeditions."

"Don't worry about it, it's my stuff and since nopony else needs it for survival I can make whatever I want from it – I decided this was more important than anything I would ever want to make for myself " the earth pony whispered back, before turning to Apple Bloom, "I made one for Granny Smith as well. Apple Jack put it next to your parents'"

"Thank you for coming, everypony" Mayor Mare greeted, standing in front of the crowd. "Today we remember the day Miss Rarity died. It was an unfortunate event that led to many of the tragedies we know have happened, and we all give our condolences to the family of this magnificent mare."

Starlight stood and walked up to stand beside the Mayor, "I didn't know Rarity for as long as many of you had, but I do know that she was brave and kind and she helped save Equestria from many enemies. The Element of Generosity fit her perfectly as she gave up many things to help other ponies, she made many friends during her life and I'll bet they're remembering her today as well."

There was a quiet applause for the small speech and everypony took a moment of silence for their fallen friend. Slowly, each pony started bringing gifts forward to put in front of the tomb and the podiums.

Just before Lyra placed her gift down, dust started flying around the area, picking up some of the flowers and small pebbles and stones.

"Sand storm!" Scootaloo yelled (her voice being slightly deeper than what it used to be), galloping to the front of the, now panicking, abundance of ponies. "Everypony take shelter!"

The crowd moved forward rapidly, the council members, Spike, Cheerilee and Pipsqueak and his housemates stayed back to push everypony forward and into their homes, helping barricade them from the outside.

Sweetie Belle skidded to a halt when she heard a filly scream, she turned and galloped back to where the sound came from. Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak called her name, running after her with Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon following them.

"What are you doing?!" Diamond scolded after coming to a halt in front of the Carousel Boutique.

"I heard something!" Sweetie shouted, stomping her hoof into the dirt.

"We have to get inside" Pip stated, trying to defuse a potential argument.

"Guys! This sand storm is gettin' worse" Apple Bloom warned, shielding her eyes with her hoof.

"We have to go" Silver said forcefully, coughing slightly as sand entered her lungs.

Suddenly, the sand spiralled around them like a tornado and started to lift them off the ground. Scootaloo flapped her wings in an attempt to stop herself from being lifted against her will, Sweetie attempted to use a spell to grab herself and her friends but nothing as working.

The sand spiralled faster and the tornado slowly got thinner, it eventually disappeared leaving nothing but dust in the small area it had once been.

None of the ponies previously trapped inside were there any longer.

 **Sorry that took so long for me to get done. It's not a particularly long chapter either but hopefully the next one will be longer since our heroes are out of Ponyville and will be seeing the rest of what has happened to Equestria.**

 **Thanks to** **anxresi** **for following and favouriting**

 **Feel free to do the same and go ahead and review if ya want**


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